Pro's Blog

Cuteness :)

2009-10-29T23:04:00.002-04:00

Sorry - I can't blog without adding a picture of my little babe! :) And no, she's not eating an apple (though she LOVES them and can gobble them up.) Its a POTATO!!

Blogging? What's that???

2009-10-28T20:12:00.006-04:00

Pretty sure that this officially marks the longest that I've ever gone without blogging since starting this blog over 3 1/2 years ago! Who knew that a 1 year old would take up all my "extra" time, whatever that is?!! :) The last couple months have been a whirl-wind... ...spinning by faster than the eye can see! Last moths - What am I saying? I still can't figure out what's happened to the whole last 2 years!!! Time has never gone so quickly and I fear it won't slow back down! :)

I think one of the things that made it all go by so quickly was that Abi was sick a lot in the last couple months. First a cold, then a virus, then a croupy cough... poor little babe! I HATE when she's sick! I feel so bad for and I can't fix it!

One of the more exciting things that happened is Sept was a fire on the hospital floor I was working on... All the staff worked well together - evacuated all the patients and kept everything running smoothly. It wasn't good excitement, but afterwards it was cool that I got to help with such a thing. Made me feel like a bit of a hero for a day or 2! :)

Abi has a couple new toys. She has a lovely swing hanging from the back deck which she could sit in for hours at a time. She loves it, and usually ends up screaming when we finally have to take her out! She also has a new wagon. Actually - I suppose that's more our toy to play with her. Its great for going on walks etc...

We discovered Liberty Ridge Farm this year, and have decided that it is "THE" fall place to go! They have a huge corn maze, a wood fort maze, a little pumpkin maze for little people, little animals, awesome food, games, giant human hamster wheels.... on and on! We've been a couple times now and had sooooo much fun! I love being able to go to places like that and have Abi enjoy it to!

Ty and Beth were just here for a bit and it was awesome! We were so blessed to have them here - they're so special to us. They left on Sunday and Abi is still running around the house saying, "guys??" "Guys!!?" She misses them badly :)

I'm amazed every day by how much Abi is growing, learning and changing. She surprises me every day with new words that I'm shocked she knows... How does she learn all this??? I know that most people wouldn't understand what she's saying yet, but that fact that she and Kris and I do is crazy! There have to be at least 50 words, but I've totally lost count and I'm quite sure there are more! She loves pushing her "baby" around in her stroller, playing with all the tupper-ware in the kitchen, getting into everything she isn't supposed to etc.... She watches me put my make-up on in the morning and comes running in saying, "cheeks! cheeks!!" so that I'll put her blush on. (Don't worry - I don't really put any on, but she likes the brush) :) Man - I'm so afraid that I won't be able to remember all these moments! I try to take soooo many pictures and videos, but I know there are things I'll forget and it makes me sad... Kris and I just love to watch her - its amazing what it does to your hear to watch your little babe. There simply are no words!!

There have been some things lately that we have struggled not to be discouraged about. It is sometimes so hard to trust in God's timing. Sometimes you get frustrated with people, sometimes you get frustrated with yourselves, and sometimes you get frustrated with circumstances. Its all been such a great reminder to me of the fact that I need to continuously seek after God and make Him the center of my life. And so... I seek... for His answers and His blessing. The latter of the two I've already received in so many ways.... One of the greatest being my husband! I love him so :)

Hmmm...

2009-08-18T20:35:00.007-04:00

So I gave up on the just one nap-a-day thing... After 4 days she was so completely exhausted she couldn't stand it and we couldn't either!! I say I gave up, BUT she gave up on 2 naps - so no matter what I do she will NOT take a second nap. The biggest problem is that she will only take a 1 1/2 hour nap even though she's only taking one nap a day! Its like clock work - I could seriously use her as a timer!! Its just not enough sleep... Don't know how to get her to sleep longer. I did decide (after talking to every mother I could think of) to still put her in her crib for quiet time in the mornings... ...she doesn't sleep, but she's happy to be in there and it helps us to get through the long mornings. I hope that with time she'll start to take a longer nap since its really only once a day - she needs more sleep. As it is right now she reaches complete melt-down mode by 5pm... Ugh...

I've been LOVING having a pool this summer! I've gotten to use it more than the last 2 years combined. :) I'm determined to be in it for at least a little while every day I can - especially on the hot days we've had this past week. I love this weather and I'm so happy that we're finally having some summer weather! Kris isn't much for the pool, so I get it to myself. (Anyone want to come swim with me?) Abi loves the water, but she doesn't like to be held and after about 5 minutes wants "up!" She loves to run around on the deck while I stay in the pool on the edge watching. She runs around like a crazy girl picking up the leaves and throwing them on the ground saying, "yucky!" Then she'll run over and give me a kiss and go right back to playing.

Abi discovered spinning in circles today. She only makes it about 360 before falling on the ground - and then looks up at me as if to say, "what just happened?" She looks very perplexed at the idea of being dizzy and doesn't understand it at all. That doesn't stop her though!

I'm constantly baffled at all the things she understands already. For a couple weeks now I can ask her if she "needs her dippee-doo changed" and she'll run right down the hall to her bedroom and stand by the changing table waiting for me! :) I can ask her if she's hungry and sometimes she'll run right to her highchair and say, "up?" She's learning so much communication already! And if she doesn't know how to tell you what she wants she runs to wherever you are and grabs you finger and pulls you to wherever she needs to show you what she wants! While very cute it can also be frustrating because if we don't immediately go where she wants us to, she throws herself on the ground and throws a fit! :)

A short (and probably incomplete) list of her vocab: Daddy, Mama, yes, no, more, thank-you, cheese, hot, water, uh-oh, yucky, oh-gosh, up, eyes, ears, cheek, teeth, hat, hair, hi, pinch, hugs, kisses, dog, woof, kitty, woah, go, this, that, watch...

The other day Abi fell and gave herself a bloody lip. Poor little babe seems to be a little accident prone! She fell into the futon frame and tore the frenulum of her upper lip. Thankful after the screaming subsided she dealt with it very well! She wouldn't let us look in her mouth or get near it, but it didn't slow her down on her eating or drinking! Oh, and speaking of eating... I was starting to think that she's becoming an extremely fussy eater, but in reality I think its just that she doesn't want ME to feed her AT ALL! As long as its something she can feed herself, she'll eat. If its something that I have to feed her, she won't tough it! Silly girl!

Just one nap?

2009-08-11T20:23:00.002-04:00

I decided on Saturday (after a week of nap torture with the little babe) that maybe it was time to try taking her down to just one nap a day... The plan was to start Monday (yesterday) and see how things would go. I planned on this week being a little rough, but last week I could hardly get her to nap at all without holding her eyes shut till she fell asleep. And I definitely couldn't get her to take 2 naps! So we started yesterday. The morning was a little rough and long. I actually gave up at one point and put her in her crib, but she didn't sleep - just played for 20 minutes and then I took her grocery shopping. By the time we got home and ate lunch she was completely exhausted and took a wonderful nap. She actually woke up after just an hour, but I went in and laid her back down and for the first time in her life she actually went back to sleep! Woohoo! Took a 2 1/2 nap in all... it was a very good first day! Today she slept till 8am - another first. She's always up at 7am, so that was really nice. But today's nap was only 1 1/4 hours making it a bit more of a long and wound up evening. :) We shall have to see what the rest of the week will bring!

Sad day...

2009-08-09T21:08:00.003-04:00

Grandaddy passed away this morning....

...Mama called me Friday evening to tell me that he wasn't looking good at all and that If I wanted to see him alive again I should get there as quickly as possible. I was planning to go out Monday (tomorrow) since I had to work all weekend, but I didn't get there in time. I'm very grateful that I was able to see him 3 times in the last 3 weeks. I found out this morning at 10:02 via a text message from Mama.. "Grandaddy is gone." I was told I could leave work, but what would be the point in that? Grandmommy didn't want visitors or phone calls - she wanted to be left alone with him for a while. I pray that she will be OK - I don't know what she'll do now that he's gone. Her life for the last 2 years has been one thing - taking care of him! And I must say - she did a darn good job! I haven't been able to figure out what to think all day.... I'm sad - all I think about is the happy memories and how great he was, and then I'm sad that we weren't closer than we were, and then I'm sad that I don't know if he went to be with the Lord. Then I'm relieved for my grandmother that the hard time is over, then I'm upset that I didn't witness to him more while he was here. I'm frustrated... My heart hurts... My first grandparent is gone and I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. This sucks - period. (I'm sorry if you don't like the word - its the only one that fits.)

Grandaddy wanted his body to be donated to Albany Medical Center for research (awesome idea.... Kris and I are thinking we'll do the same) then he'll be cremated. There are no plans for a service yet... Waiting to hear what the plan is. Also waiting to hear from Daddy - he's going to talk to Grandmommy after work tomorrow and see how she is and if she's ready for calls yet. I want to talk to her...

I'm fine - I'm just emotional. I don't like being emotional.

I do have lots of happy things to remember :) I'll always remember.... ....that he had salt and pepper (his 5 o'clock shadow) on his chin when I was little.... that he was like my savior when I was paralyzed in fear at the very sight of those huge cows at the age of five and was afraid to even walk down the center isle of the barn lest they somehow kick me... that I never knew what he did at his job later in life because the only thing he would tell me was that got paid to "flirt with the girls..." that I got to go on a trip with him and Grandmommy to Indiana to a family reunion when I was 11... that I got to help him build his house when I was 12... that I got to spend the night at their house once when I was 13 and he grilled salmon steaks with fresh cut beans - it was the first time I'd had salmon...that he taught me how to drive a tractor for the first time when I was 14... There are more sweet memories, but the one thing I will remember most...? I will remember that he married my grandmother "because she had sexy legs!"

Still Alive!

2009-08-08T10:00:00.003-04:00

We are all still very much alive! It's just been busy and I haven't found the time for blogging! I've been trying to keep up with the "Odd Days project" and even that is suffering. Abi is walking now and getting into everything... ...makes it a little hard to get to things... Since its been 2 months since I posted perhaps I'll just do some short recaps...

-Early June we went to Florida for 10 days with Ty, Beth, Mercy, Aaron, Melissa, and Mandy and her family. We rented an awesome condo in Daytona Beach and it would have been wonderful, but Abi was sick the ENTIRE time... :( A trip to Urgent Care and 2 trips to the ER and we still don't know if she just had an ear infection with an allergic reaction to the abx? Or if she had the Roseola virus with an ear infection on top of it?? In any case - it was SUCH a rough week and we still desperately need a vacation!

-We're hoping to try to do a little weekend camping trip later this year - we'll see how that goes. At least we will stay closer to home in case things go badly! :)

-I haven't actually had to work over at Sam again, yet... Since going on vacation I've been able to get plenty of hours at Memorial. I'm happy about that - cause that's where I'd rather be anyway.

-Abi started walking in the middle of July and hasn't stopped! She took her first 2 steps on a Sunday morning, and by Tuesday was walking all over the house! She just wouldn't stop till she had this new skill figured out! She's so completely fun to watch with all the new things she's learning and doing. She makes us laugh all the time! Sometimes I get frustrated by all the things she gets into and the fact that she doesn't listen to the word "no" (though she knows exactly what it means!) But in general we could just watch her and laugh all the time!

-I'm contemplating starting Abigail on just one nap a day on Monday and see how that goes. Nap #2 has been a huge fight all week so I'm wondering if it's time? We'll see... I'm not really sure she's ready yet, but its worth a try.

- This summer has been sooooooo cold and rainy. It was about 50 degrees out last night - IN AUGUST!! What is up with that? The pool is not really swimm-able - its just too cold! And it won't warm up because of all the rain... ugh!

- Grandaddy is not doing well at all and I'm sure will not be with us for long. Its so hard to watch and I'm worried about what Grandmommy will do after he's gone. He's on hospice now and quickly going down hill. Mama called last night to tell me that if I want to see him again I should get there quickly... I'm so sad... If I knew for sure where he was headed then I would be happy for him to go and be at peace, but I don't... It hurts to not know and to wonder... I wish there was more time and I had a chance to share with him, but his mind has been gone for a couple years already... Only God knows where his heart really is...

-On a lighter note... I HATE CHIPMUNKS!!! They won't leave my gardens alone and I don't for the life of me know what to do! I've gotten so desperate that I even put out rat traps, but they just take whatever I put on them and stare at me defiantly... Oh, what to do? Our yard is over run by rodents.... chipmunks, squirrels, moles, and rabbits - I'd love to be rid of all of them. I enjoy gardening and I can't grow anything without it being destroyed!! It makes me so upset! I think next year we may try to pay someone to get our yard looking better (if we're able to afford it.) We don't really have grass - just a bunch of weeds and dirt with millions of ant hills thrown in... Its a horrid yard for a little babe who wants to run around outside! We want it to be someplace that she can just play safely and its not right now. We did quite a bit to try to help it out to no avail this year so we're hoping to get help next year...

-Summer is going to quickly and we're trying to find fun things to do to enjoy what's left of it. Last night we took Abi and went to the park. Kris and Fred have discovered the wonderful world of disc golf and are loving it! Kris just got his own set of discs yesterday so he wanted to try them out. Abi LOVED it! She just kept running around trying to get the discs and taking them away. It was great to be able to set her down and just let her run all over that park! The picture up top is of her at the park after she discovered the ducks - she was running around trying to catch them. It was sooooo stinkin cute!!

Work

2009-06-03T12:19:00.002-04:00

I'm a little nervous.... Today I'm going to work at Samaritan Hospital - or at least I'm going to go spend a day orienting there. I haven't been there since I was in school 4 years ago. I've been getting cancelled constantly at Memorial. For some reason the census is really low and they've had to close 2 floors. That's never happened in the 7 years that I've worked there! And since I'm per-diam I'm the first one to be cancelled. I've lost four days work in the last couple weeks and its not looking like its getting better! That's a half months pay! And all right at the time that I was trying to pick up extra hours to cover the time I'm taking off for vacation! Ugh - its been really stressful for me, but just a perfect reminder that God is in control - not me - and I need to trust Him fully. So anyway, Sam is a "sister" hospital and they usually need more help so I'm going over there to orient so that I can hopefully pick up more hours there when I get cancelled at Mem. I don't like change.... ....I'm nervous.

1 Year Old!!!

2009-06-02T10:33:00.002-04:00

My little tiny baby is one year old today!! I can hardly stand it! It feels like just yesterday that I went the hospital and came home with such a tiny little bundle. I'm so happy and excited to celebrate her birthday and yet I'm sad. My little baby is growing up and I can't slow time down! I'm just trying to enjoy every moment with her - it goes by way too quickly! I pray that she will grow into a wonderful and stong woman of God. I pray that God will give Kris and I wisdom as her parents - that we can help her to learn and grow to her greatest potential. We love you little babe and we're so happy to have you in our lives :)

June 2, 2008

June 2009

Napping update...

2009-05-31T15:31:00.002-04:00

I hesitate to write this - lest by some strange turn of events I jix myself. That's not possible silly - I don't believe in superstition!! Well - our little babe who has been a HORRID sleeper since she was born seems to be doing better. I completely lost it about 3 weeks ago and decided that I couldn't stand it a day longer, so I pulled out the book "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby." I read the chapter about kids her age and I can't believe how much it seems to have helped. What did we do? One, small... little... change... We moved her bedtime forward by one hour. That's it. Period. She now goes to bed at 7pm instead of 8pm. That's it. Period. And our life has changed. She's no longer totally over tired all the time and bouncing off the walls. She takes great naps usually twice per day. (Don't get me wrong - we still have bad days some times...) Weekends are a little harder - when Kris and I are both home she just wants to play with us and usually takes about an hour to get herself to sleep - or doesn't sleep at all. But in general things are getting better - I'm sooooo relieved! Its been a rough year - just due to lack of sleep! Because its been tough, I still freak out every time we have a rough day, but I'm so grateful and praising God that things seem to be better. It makes me love and enjoy my time with Abigail so much!!

A couple nice updates...

2009-05-31T14:33:00.006-04:00

We were very blessed to get a nice income tax return this year. The first thing we did was get a new railing on the stairs. We didn't even get it because we wanted to (we actually had other things that we wanted to do), but it was a necessity! Abi could put her head through the old one and slide underneath - not safe at all!!!

I'm sooooo glad that we got it done though - We absolutely love the new railing! I'm in the process of staining/poly-ing it still. But, it looks so nice - nice and modern and new!

I've been dreaming of re-doing this garden since we moved in 2 years ago... I was finally able to get to it this year. I dug all these out a couple months ago and then spent pretty much every day thinking about exactly what I wanted to put back there!

And this is the finished product!! I love it - I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. I think that it will look better as the plants grow a bit, but I already really like it.

We also just had a new roof and gutters put on - courtesy of our home owner's insurance due to a hail storm we had last year in June. We only had to pay the $500 deductible and the rest was covered by the insurance. It was soooo noisy and we couldn't stand having the construction guys here - they were just nasty - but thankfully its done and we shouldn't have to replace the roof for many years to come! We actually just had the gutters done last year, but the insurance agreed they should be replaced - so we have new gutters again for 2 years in a row...

Four wonderful years :)

2009-05-29T21:53:00.002-04:00

5-27-09 marked four years of marriage. They've been wonderful. I love my husband and I know how blessed I am. We've had a couple tough times, but mostly we've had great times. We've walked it together and with God's grace. I love you, Honey. You are my best friend. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.

11 month shots

2009-05-29T21:46:00.004-04:00

And the 11 month shots! I just want to kiss those big ol' cheeks :) Thanks for your help, Mom! I couldn't do it without you - she's too wiggly.

How long has it been?

2009-05-29T21:41:00.004-04:00

Once again I have allowed the ages to come and go and I have not posted to my blog... There just isn't enough time in any of my days! My little baby is about to turn 1 in just four short days. I don't like to think about it - I'm sad. She isn't going to be a baby much longer and its gone by MUCH too quickly.On the other hand - I'm so proud to celebrate her first birthday with her! I love this little babe. :) I love to watch her learn and grow - its such a wonderful thing. I swear there has never been another more awesome baby in all the world!

Here are Abi's 10 month pictures - so what if they're almost 2 months late!! Isn't she adorable? Its getting harder and harder to take her picture every month because she won't sit still for even 2 seconds anymore...

Our New Furniture!

2009-04-22T21:42:00.003-04:00

Its here!!! Our fabulous new bedroom furniture! Now we just have to sell our house and get one with a bigger master bedroom. J/K :) Its a little crowded, but its very do-able. We're so excited to finally have furniture... ...and an awesome mattress! Now need to finally get some curtains and decorate the room. The mattress came in on Sat. We were going to just sleep on the futon for a few days till the furniture came in, but we couldn't do it. We just laid it on the floor and slept on just that for a few days till the furniture came in on Tues (yesterday). I'm now waking up in comfort every morning. I've had no back pain for 4 days! What a wonderful feeling. :)

Its amazing how fast the dresser filled up! We had a little trouble fitting things, but I think we just weren't used to having dressers to put things in...

I wanted to get a good picture of Abi hugging her Teddy. This one isn't great, but its OK. My little babe who has always been the one to refuse any kind of snuggling is suddenly becoming a snugly baby!! And I love it!! I don't even really know how she figured it out, but one day I went in to get her up from her nap, and she rapped her arms around my neck, put her cheek against mine and said, "Aweeee...!" Oh, how I love it!! And she loves to hug her Teddies too - or as she says, "Teh-gees." She says Huggies too - "Uhh-gees." :) Oh, she loves to play with the cell phones too. For a couple months every time the phone rings and I pick it up she wants to talk and goes crazy till I let her say hello. Well, a couple days ago she was playing with Kris' phone and picked it up and put it to her ear all by herself. She's getting so big and figuring things out on her own! How does it happen? How do they grow up so fast?

On the other hand... We've had so much trouble getting Abi to nap well. I spent a week working hard to get her on a schedule and it seemed to work, but it didn't last even a week. Now I'm trying again. Its so frustrating. I've been reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" and getting some good tips. I feel like we've tried everything over the last year. After doing some reading, It seems that she's been overtired and overstimulated most of her life despite how hard I've tried to keep that from being the case. Who knows... I have new resolve to just keep working at it. What else is there to do in such a case? Its been so frustrating, but the worst part is when it gets stressful. And that it has been. And stress isn't good for happy marriages. :) I'm so grateful that Kris is so understanding and helpful. I love you, Husband - with all my heart! Every day I'm reminded how blessed I am that you wanted to marry me. :)

Updates:

2009-04-07T22:49:00.002-04:00

Seems like there's always so much going on and I don't have time to update my blog. So I thought I might just throw out a punch of thoughts and leave it at that... ...for now...

- We've been having so much trouble with Abi's naps since she was born. Seems that letting her scream it out has finally done the trick. She still doesn't always sleep great, but usually so much better.

-We got a really wonderful tax return this year! What a blessing - now we're trying to decide what the priorities are to use it for.

-We've been wanting to have a hole put in the wall between the living room and dining room - kinda like a pass through window. So we decided to get an estimated done. ...$2895... WHAT!!??? Can you be serious???? We're talking a 4x5 foot window people! We're not talking paving the driveway in gold!

-We ordered bedroom furniture and we're sooooo excited. It should be in sometime next week. Tomorrow we're going to look for a mattress...

-We're in the middle of trying to refinance our house to bring our mortgage payments down a bit. The appraiser came on Monday and we're just praying that she gives good numbers. The house has to appraise for at least 223,000 in order for us to be able to re-fi.

-I dug up all the old bushes from the front of the house a couple weeks ago. The plan is to totally re-landscape the front this year. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully I can get at least one side done. I have grand ideas for what I want it to look like.

-I'd welcome any suggestions on how to get rid of moles. Our entire back yard has been completely destroyed by them!

-I can't wait to go to Florida in June! I miss my family soooo much.

-Abi is crawling all over the house now like a little crazy person and getting into everything that she can find. She cruses too - so cute :) She loves to go outside on nice days - she points to the window and says, "side?"

-I'm trying to prep to run a 5K this summer. I'm terrible at running and so far I can only run 1/2 mile at a time. Ugh - I didn't think that it would be so hard! But I really want to do it and I still want to lose another 10 lbs and I think that running will help.

-I have about 15 craft projects that I've been in the middle of for about 2 years. I want to work on all of them and get them finished up so I can start new things but I just can't seem to find any time.

-I need a maid. My house is dirty and I struggle to keep up - only because Abi no longer sits still while I work... Hmmm - I wonder if I can strap mops to her knees so she can clean on the go?!

I'm pretty sure that there is a lot more still on my mind, but I don't know what it is at the moment and I really must go to bed and get some sleep so that I can get back to all this tomorrow!

So excited!

2009-04-01T22:13:00.002-04:00

I'm soooo excited!! After almost 4 years of marriage - sleeping in a bed with craters in the middle and putting our clothes in little cubical thingy-bobs... WE ORDERED BEDROOM FURNITURE LAST NIGHT!!! Woohoo!! I can't for it to come in. Now we can finally get our bedroom looking cozy. :) It wasn't that big a priority for us because... well - who sees the bedroom anyway? And there are always so many other things that seem to be more important. But we've been saving for a long time and finally had enough money. Plus with our beautiful tax return we're going to get a new mattress!! I can't wait to be sleeping more comfortably! We were both starting to get more and more uncomfortable on that old mattress. Wow - I feel so blessed...! This picture isn't the best as it doesn't show the dressers, but it was the best I could find. I went on the website of the furniture store that we bought it from and they didn't even have a picture up yet because its so new - so I just hunted the Internet for a while before I found this.

9 months pics (3-2-09)

2009-03-25T09:37:00.005-04:00

So I decided with Abi's 9 month pictures to actually put a little more effort in... I happy with them. I'm already wondering how on earth I'll do the next couple months pics though! She doesn't hold still anymore!!!

8 month pics - late...

2009-03-03T14:55:00.005-05:00

OOPS! I was just thinking about the fact that I need to do Abi's 9 month pics and realized that I never posted the 8 months ones! So, alas - here they are :) She was 9 months already yesterday... I'll try to get tho those pictures tomorrow. I can't believe I've already been able to carry her on the outside for as long as I did on the inside! She's growing up just WAY too fast.

Abi helped me do a little shopping today. And by helped, I mean she continuously pulled at every tag she could find non stop. Pulling piles of clothes off onto the floor faster than I could pick them up. Then the ones we were keeping she kept throwing on the floor and saying "uhh- uhh!!!" She's so stinkin cute - we can't imagine our lives without her anymore! So, anyway, had to go out and buy all new clothes for the first time... What a blessing - we had all the clothes we need up to size 9 months just from my baby-showers! But she's gettin big and needs 12month stuff now and we didn't have any. Can someone please tell me why baby clothes cost so much???? Its like 15$ per outfit - and there is hardly anything to them!

Yesterday -

2009-02-23T20:18:00.002-05:00

I had SUCH a bad day... We'll get to that later...

When I got home, I was so frustrated and just wanted to have a good cry, but I knew that wouldn't work. I walked in the door and up the stairs and there was Abi in her jumpy seat. She started screaming and jumping around like crazy - she was so happy to see me! It didn't take long for that to turn to desperate attempts to try to get me to pick her up... But my husband and the love of my life comes first. Why is it that being with him and having him near makes everything 100% better? I picked Abi up and took her into my room while I changed my clothes. Then we went into the living room to play for a little while. I sad down on the couch - something that Abi usually hates as she's rather we be standing up carrying her around - but not this time... She grabbed my face with both her slimy little paws and pulled my face to hers and kissed me over and over and over with wide open mouthed wet wet kisses!!! She's never done that before - my heart melted. And this time I cried - because it was all better now...

So- about my day... there is this thing about nursing. Co-workers have to work together or things get dangerous... If everyone doesn't work just as hard and do their part to the best of their ability, then things can go very very wrong and the one person who is trying feels 10x's the stress and pressure. That, and - no matter how much they do, it will never be possible to make all the patients happy and give them the care they need and deserve! On my floor at the hospital there are a couple people that don't pull there weight - its a huge frustration to everyone! I was working with both of them yesterday. Hence I was WAY over stressed, dangerous things happened. I spent much of the day trying to clean up were they left huge blunders. That left angry patients. One of them screamed and cussed me out - I yelled back... At least I had his respect after that. One of the above mentioned individuals did something they new was VERY wrong - because they were afraid of being turned in they spent the next couple hours trying to find a reason to turn me in instead so they wouldn't get in trouble. Ended up with the nurse manager involved - thankfully she knew it was all bogus. Why has it all been let get to this point? Then the 2nd patient started getting upset and yelling... What was I to do? You can't put out 1000 fires all at the same time. Prioritizing always makes those lower on the list angry...

And that was my day in a nutshell. There were plenty of other little things, but there is no point in belaboring the issue. I went in to work today for a little while just to have a chance to talk to my boss. I feel better about that. But somehow I don't expect things to change - this has been going on for a very long time. I love my boss and I don't think its her fault and think that HER boss has her hands tied. I wish that I understood the politics. I don't.

I'm 30...

2009-01-30T11:05:00.002-05:00

...and I'm OK with it. :)
I thought I'd be much more upset with turning 30 than I am. I'm not - I'm fine with it. I'm so blessed by God and all that He's done in my life and the position that I'm at. I have a husband who loves me and is more wonderful both to and for me than I ever hoped. I love you Honey - forever and always... more than I can say! I have a beautiful daughter that I adore watching learn and grow. She, without knowing it, makes me realized new things about myself every day. I am blessed with friends to share my life with in good times and bad. We have a house - and one much nicer than I ever dreamed of throughout my life. Two good cars sit in our driveway and I don't have to wonder if they're going to break down. We have a church that we love and are blessed to be able to serve along side people that we love and respect. I serve a God who loves me and works daily to make me more like Himself. I could go on and on, but at the risk of starting to sound silly and boring anyone who reads this... I'll stop. I'm so happy!!!

Beauty Queen Wave :)

2009-01-22T21:29:00.002-05:00

Kris has been working for several days at teaching Abi how to wave. :) Until today she would only do it for him, but today she waved for me too. Its so funny and cute... I think she also kinda knows who "Dah dah" is too. For the last few days she stops what ever she's doing at some point throughout the morning, starts to wave and asks, "Dah dah?" How cute is that?

I've never disliked winter so much!

2009-01-22T21:05:00.002-05:00

Somehow this is the end result of a very long sleepless day... How this could be comfortable, I do not know! You know, the parenting class that we took made everything sound so simple - "If you do it like we say, your child will sleep through the night and nap on schedule!" I'm struggling not to be frustrated lately. Abi sleeps well at night for the most part, though every once in a while (and for no apparent reason) she'll go through periods of waking up multiple times a night. The last few nights have been better, and I'm so grateful! At least I'm getting to sleep without getting up every couple hours! We had a few rough weeks before this! Anyway -naps are a battle every day. If this were a war I would surrender - after all I loose the battle almost every single day! We started out good today, but after her morning nap she woke up miserable and was for most of the day. I have no idea why, and she wouldn't take a nap this afternoon. I only wish I had some small clue of how to fix the problem! It seems like if even one small thing messes up her routine then I'm screwed for the next 3 days. That means - no shopping, no projects, no ever leaving the house... I can't do it! I'll go insane!!

I've never struggled so much with winter before. I think that it just might be because I've never been home all winter before - I've always worked and I think that makes it go by quicker. I feel like a shut in lately. Its been to cold to take Abi out and even if it wasn't it messes with her schedule. Even when I'm home I don't get much opportunity to do anything - babies take a lot of time and attention. All I'm saying is that it makes for a very LONG winter!

I long for Spring!

And I need a vacation...

Just a couple of little pictures...

2009-01-07T21:40:00.002-05:00

This is the face that greets me every morning and after every nap... ...it melts my heart. :) Even when we have a bad day, I can't be sad when I see this!
Its very hard to take a "self portrait" with a heavy camera while holding a baby that never holds still! :) But - I liked the picture anyway. Next time I will use a tripod and camera remote!

I finally got all the Christmas decorations down yesterday. A job that I always do on New Years day, but Mercy, Colin, Cheryl and Ryan were here. Then Abi got sick. Then I had to work.... Alas the job is done, and yet the tree still sits in my living room. There is one thing that we did not think out thoroughly before buying a fake tree... storage! Raised ranch houses don't have much storage. We have an attic, but it has a broken pull down ladder and no flooring! I think that tomorrow we will attempt to do something makeshift just to get the tree up there and get it out of our way. Hopefully by next year we will be able to replace the attic door/pull-down-ladder and put in a little flooring (which will also require putting down thicker insulation prior to nailing down flooring). We really need the storage space!

I look forward so much to the holidays, but this week I am really enjoying getting back to a sense of "normalcy." Whatever that is of course!

Wowza!!

2009-01-07T21:18:00.004-05:00

My baby is 7 months old already! Every month I'm in shock at how fast the time has gone. I love her so much it overwhelms me sometimes. She's so beautiful. I'm prejudiced and I'm OK with it!

So, yeah... I spiked her hair the other day.... just because. :) Actually I thought Ty might enjoy it. Her hair sticks up all the time anyway, but I wondered what a little gel might do? ...and now we know. :)

Odd Days Project

2009-01-01T21:23:00.002-05:00

Kris came up with an awesome photo idea - its called the Odd Days project! And he managed to get a whole bunch of us excited about it! So there is quite a following. :) I hope to take better pictures, but here is my start. The idea is to take one picture for every odd numbered day for the whole year of 2009. I'm really excited to see all the pictures together at the end of the year and print them out for an album.

Abi really wasn't as terrified as she looks! Her expressive little face doesn't always show through at her best in pictures. We actually had a fantastic day with Mercy, Colin, Cheryl, and Ryan, and Abi was so good all day - despite the fact that she only took two 45 minute naps... She was loving her new friends. :) It was awesome to get a chance to see Mercy for a little while and to meet Colin.

Little side note: Abi fed herself her finger foods for the first time today. She loves to eat absolutely anything, so I've been trying Cheerios with her. I put them on her tray and till today she would play with them and even pick them up. But for some reason, though everything else she touches goes into her mouth she wouldn't put food there. She would just sit and wait for me to put another one in her mouth! Today she did it herself for the first time! Pretty cute to watch.